What was the path in a major (then won) with the highest difficulty coefficient for a member of the big three?

BGod

G.O.A.T.
For reference Wilander won his first Slam at 17 beating 2-5-4-3 in that order where Connors was #1 but this was red clay and he lost in quarters.

Big 3 in the 32 seed draw era just haven't had to do something like that. Plus the obvious them being one of the Top 4 seeds typically.

Novak in 2011 USO beat a still prime contender Fed down 0-2 then Nadal defending champ in 4.

However 2017 AO Fed is very real. Is 8 years really that long to forget?

Berdych (10)
Nishikori (5)
Wawrinka (4)
Nadal (9)

Nadal sitting at 9 is of course out of context, he went on to make Miami Final losing to Fed then USO (to stay on just HC). Wawrinka had just won USO and it went 5.
 

BauerAlmeida

Hall of Fame
I guess just putting up a fight wasn’t enough anymore if it wasn’t gonna lead to a win after the previous 3 years.

He also saw Nadal's level until the SF and knew there was no chance. Before the event, he fancied his chances more probably after the close match they had on Hamburg, but Nadal was playing incredible tennis aside from that dip in the 3rd vs Djokovic and it was clear as day he was winning the final regardless of the opponent.

Ferrero played very poorly and Safin arrived exhausted.
His biggest rival was Nalbandián in that edition.

Ferrero was good until 4-4 in the first when he had BP to serve for it. Federer saved it and broke in the following game to take the set and then Ferrero threw in the towel.

A similar situation happened in the match vs Nalbandian when Federer was serving 5-5 15-40 and won it 7-5, although Nalbandian stayed in the match and made it competitive all the way through.
 

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
Wimbledon 2014 was pretty tough for Djokovic.
Stepanek, Simon, Tsonga, Cilic, Dimitrov and Fed, all of them in great/solid form and dangerous on grass (well maybe not Simon lol)

Keep in mind that after Wimbledon, Tsonga won Canada Open, Fed won Cinci and Cilic was USO champion
 

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
No Nadal. No Murray. No slam-nemesis Wawrinka. Take out old Federer and it looks like the path of a 250/500 event, lol.
And Djokovic was #1, Nadal was #2, Murray was #3 and Fed #4, it's impossible to play against all of them, it's a simple math really lol
 

duaneeo

Legend
Lol Wawrinka on grass, u're laughable. Tsonga and Cilic above him anyday on grass.

Wawrinka was somewhat laughable on clay and hard as well, but that didn't stop him from beating peak/prime Nole at the AO and RG and the USO.

And Djokovic was #1, Nadal was #2, Murray was #3 and Fed #4, it's impossible to play against all of them, it's a simple math really lol

Yes, he could only face two of them, but he ended up facing only one...and it wasn't his contemporary Nadal or Murray, but PastGen Federer.
 

SonnyT

Legend
Federer won the vast majority of his majors when he was the sole contender on grass/HC. Nadal won the vast majority of his slams on the surface where he was the undisputed king.
 

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
Wawrinka was somewhat laughable on clay and hard as well, but that didn't stop him from beating peak/prime Nole at the AO and RG and the USO.



Yes, he could only face two of them, but he ended up facing only one...and it wasn't his contemporary Nadal or Murray, but PastGen Federer.
Are u trolling or what, Wawrinka on grass is Kuerten/Ferrero level at best. Non factor really

Djokovic would have liked his chances against Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012-2015 period but Nadal wasn't good enough to beat players outside of top 100
 

duaneeo

Legend
Djokovic would have liked his chances against Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012-2015 period but Nadal wasn't good enough to beat players outside of top 100

I'm sure he and his fans much preferred his chances against the likes of Tsonga/Cilic/Dimitrov, lol.
 

Gonzo_style

Hall of Fame
I'm sure he and his fans much preferred his chances against the likes of Tsonga/Cilic/Dimitrov, lol.
Well Djokovic was not on the same level as Kyrgios or Darcis but I'm pretty sure he would take a set or two against Nadal in those years lol
 

SonnyT

Legend
If Djokovic wins '25 AO, he'll have defeated 2 betting favorites (assuming the tournament goes to form) and 1 toss-up. He had never done that before! So this will be his toughest test yet!
 

Tano

Hall of Fame
He also saw Nadal's level until the SF and knew there was no chance. Before the event, he fancied his chances more probably after the close match they had on Hamburg, but Nadal was playing incredible tennis aside from that dip in the 3rd vs Djokovic and it was clear as day he was winning the final regardless of the opponent.



Ferrero was good until 4-4 in the first when he had BP to serve for it. Federer saved it and broke in the following game to take the set and then Ferrero threw in the towel.

A similar situation happened in the match vs Nalbandian when Federer was serving 5-5 15-40 and won it 7-5, although Nalbandian stayed in the match and made it competitive all the way through.
That's why I said it, Federer fans remember something different to praise the victory of their favorite player.
 

NatF

Bionic Poster
He really was.
How did you come to that conclusion exactly? It was only set 2 where he was relatively poor. Unless Federer was distinctly average or something there's no way Ferrero was poor. He had more break chances in the first set, just got outclutched and in set 3 Federer was in full flight but Ferrero kept the scoreline respectable.
 
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